Dead Space 3 is still creepy, but this entry is more action-packed than previous games. That’s a good thing. Isaac’s intuitive new dodge roll makes avoiding the larger nercromorph attacks more manageable.

Even with Dead Space 3’s minor faults such as the psychological, personal terror being nowhere in sight, the human enemies being a terribly executed addition, and the graphics not making a huge leap, the game is simply fun.

Dead Space 3 brings back the most epic action in the battle against the terrifying necromorphs. Its increased dynamism contrasts with a somehow lessened fear effect, but nonetheless the setting quality of the franchise is maintained, and its essence preserved. Besides, co-op mode turns out to be a very interesting option and sufficiently original as to experience the entire game through a different point of view.

A high quality sequel. It's not a revolution, but a stylish chapter in the series. Like Dead Space 2 before it, the game has survival horror segments and some more action-oriented moments, resulting in a varied and nicely paced adventure. The only misstep is to be found in a few missions on the icy planet, which are too long and not on par with the rest of the game. If you're looking for a pure survival horror game, look somewhere else, but if you liked the first two episodes, Dead Space 3 is a no-brainer.

Do yourself a favour and play DS3 like a raving masochist, straight off the bat. It’s a slick, AAA sequel that’s worthy of its place in the franchise. but only if you take the initiative and crank the difficulty. We didn’t think it possible, but Visceral has engineered a sequel that will appease old fans and entice new ones, too. [March 2013, p72]

While by no means a bad game, Dead Space 3 fails to capture the same tension and atmosphere of the previous games. A woefully broken checkpoint system hurts cooperative play, which is a shame given how many modes there are to explore with a friend.

Even though EA and Visceral chose to focus more on full-out action and less on the creepy horror atmosphere which made you pause the game in tight spots just so you could breathe easily, Dead Space 3 is a worthy successor to Dead Space 2. It has a few new additions to the game like weapon crafting and cooperative play, which makes it all the more fun. Though Dead Space shouldn’t be fun, it should scare you sh.tless!

If you played Dead Space 2 you can get a clear idea of what you'll find here: scares, shootings, bizarre monsters and tons of gore. You can argue that Visceral could have been a bit more brave and that Dead Space 3 does not have as much ability to surprise you as before, but it's a really solid game nonetheless.

No doubt, Dead Space 3 stumbles—pretty hard—in some spots. But it also feels like this is Visceral honing its craft. The combat and pacing are the best they have ever been and some choices invest you in the experience, even if it’s a bummer the story doesn’t hold up.

While human enemies detract and distract from the intense atmosphere and narrative, necromorphs still stand as the most entertaining things to shoot in gaming. Repeating some of the franchise's "epic" moments cheapens them somewhat, but nothing can deflate the sci fi-horror highs throughout Dead Space 3. This monster is well-equipped, even if there's one or two limbs I'd like to lop off.

An awful story is salvaged and ameliorated through exceptional combat design and an engaging weapon creation system - leaving Dead Space 3 weaker than its predecessors, but still an experience absolutely worth having.

This game features the roller-coaster effect that pr-people in the gaming industry love to show off. In other words: Dead Space doesn't have a single dull moment. The controls however, demand a more deliberate and slower pacing. [March 2013, p.68]

The environment is continually interesting and involving, the character and enemy designs are highly accomplished, the third-person action is reliable and responsive, and the deep weapon crafting system adds intricacy. But the subtler aspects, the slightly more artistic elements, the more cerebral parts of the production; they take a back seat to the insanity. Hence, the epitome of flash over substance.

The combat system and the world Visceral has crafted in Dead Space 3 is so expertly built and well-wrought, I found myself consciously overlooking my main criticisms, because I love playing it and spending time with it.

The trouble is that, stapled onto what is a good game at the core, are a number of mishandled features that don’t add anything and occasionally detract from the experience. Co-op is a take-it-or-leave-it gesture that is only sometimes really interesting (in some missions, Carver hallucinates things the player controlling Isaac can’t see at all), but crafting can get fun, and many of the missions and a lot of the lore are stellar reasons to play the game. It is a fun time, despite a few failings.

All things considered, Dead Space 3 just isn’t made for those of us craving another horror experience. It’s far less scary and far more shooter-y than the previous games in the series. But for fans of set piece-based action games, Dead Space 3 has a pretty healthy buffet of amazing content. Just don’t spend any money on the microtransactions; EA needs to know that we’re not going to tolerate that sort of crap.

With the third entry of the Dead Space series, Visceral Games goes in another direction than before. Horror elements makes space for pure action with the introduction of co-op, open landscapes and cover based shooting. As an action game it's pretty good but it's still the worst game in the trilogy.

Scored as a trilogy and compared to the first two titles, the game scores lower than the previous two. But this isn’t the same style of gameplay and we weren’t lied to about it being changed. It’s a different type of game and should be played like one.

Diehard fans of the previous two games will have just as much fun this time around, assuming they aren’t expecting broad innovations. Everything is polished and this is clearly a title with a lot of funding behind it, but all the money in the world can’t buy innovation. By no means a bad sequel, it doesn’t quite offer a way for Dead Space to evolve as a series beyond its past two instalments, even if the formula here is still potent.

If you’ve played the previous games you’ll be able to spot the scares a mile away... and you’ll likely pine for the panic and purity of the original in the face of so many changes. But taken in isolation, Dead Space 3 is still an enjoyable and worthwhile experience: well-produced, polished and with enough narrative ups and downs (emphasis is very much on the downs) and set-pieces to sustain its ten-hour duration.

Dead Space 3 has moments in which it is just as exciting and tense as
its predecessor and new additions, such as crafting your own weapons,
are great. However, the boring human enemies, repetitive encounters
with the necromorph, a weak story and the feeling that the game has
been stretched, make sure that this trilogy ending doesn’t stack up to
the first and second Dead Space.

Dead Space 3 is overlong – even bloated – larded with repetitive quests to fetch keys and alien artifacts, open doors and backtrack over the same terrain, on and on. Much of its 15-hour-or-so single-player campaign feels like a chore.

Near the end of the game, Isaac Clarke tells John Carver, “Good men mean well. We just don’t always end up doing well.” Ironically, the statement is exactly how I feel about Visceral Games’ work on Dead Space 3. The elements they chose to add were in hopes to attract a larger audience yet in a questionable direction. What’s left is a game that is mildly fun, but filled with flaws.

Misfires and all, it’s at least commendable that Dead Space 3 makes an effort to exhibit some fresh experimentation into what has become a truly bloated media franchise; plus the combat still shines for the most part. Sadly though, better elements like the crafting system are lamentably set against a mundane and lifeless backdrop that rarely excites, let alone spooks, on the grand level of previous games in the series.

Sacrifices have been made that really don’t give Dead Space 3 much to show for. Previous installments knew how to grasp onto players with the harrowing but tight gameplay, but in Dead Space 3 only the latter of these aspects remain standing. Along with the coöp those elements barely save the game, because other than that it feels like an illogical, bland and weak experience. Dead Space 3 is a game that doesn’t know what it wants to be and the player suffers for it.

I'm still glad I saw the Dead Space trilogy through to the end--and if you're invested in the series it's absolutely worth playing--but it's too bad this respectable series, which felt so exciting and fresh when it debuted just a few years ago, had to go out on a middling note.

Despite all these issues, Dead Space 3 isn't a bad game—but it's not a particularly good one, either. The focus on co-op, attempts to ditch the horror elements in favor of more mainstream sci-fi shooter aesthetics, and the disjointed, repetitive feeling of the project as a whole prevent it from ever becoming something that pops.

Not one to simply ignore the conclusion to a series I enjoy, I sat down with low expectations for Dead Space 3. I saw the trailers, played theNot one to simply ignore the conclusion to a series I enjoy, I sat down with low expectations for Dead Space 3. I saw the trailers, played the demo, and all I saw was an action game. I wasn't far off. DS3 in single player retains only the barest of horror elements from the first game. In there place is action sequences straight out of Gears of War. Gone are the days of paranoia and supply famine as the game literally throws ammo, now a single type used by all guns, and enemies die so easily to automatic fire that there is little to no chance of death. The most I saw my heath go down was during pre-programed sections. Co-Op brings in the worst of this as enemies simply can;t keep up with you and your partner and make you feel untouchable. All in all, I can;t say the game is a failure. Action fans will find a good fill of gore and excitment as Isaac, once scared engineer has become a one-liner spitting badass in Furcoat lined Space Armor. With zombies, human cultists, giant montrosities and chest high walls aplenty make Co-Op fun and rewarding for a sit down with buddies, offering plenty of oportunities to bro it up, but there in lies the problem. The whole game, from the guns to the atmosphere is not Dead Space. There's no horror, there's no fear, there's no soul of the once vibrant survival game. The world sorely need another space marine shooter yet an up and coming horror game was sacrificed for just that. To put it shortly: Dead Space=Alien, where you are alone, weak and a hair's width from death with every corner turned. Dead Space 2=Aliens, where you're armed, you're knowledgable about the threat, you have the can do spirit, and it's all meaningless as you look death in the face. Dead Space 3=Alien3, where every element that made the last two unique has been traded off in an attempt to out do them with a different audience. Time to let Isaac fall into the molten iron and lay it to rest. God help us if they make Dead Space: Resurrection.…Full Review »

Not really sure where all the negativity being leveled towards this game is coming from. Many fans and critics seem to be complaining about aNot really sure where all the negativity being leveled towards this game is coming from. Many fans and critics seem to be complaining about a straying from the roots of the series, what makes dead space a unique, original, series. After playing DS3 I can say that the new direction of the developers towards a more action oriented game was well thought out. DS1 was all about the unknown and survival, DS2 strayed from this but still kept the feeling of creepy horror while combining it with heavier action elements. At this point, there was only one logical way to go with the series. The horror and survival aspects had been thoroughly explored, now it was time to see what Isaac could really do when faced with intense combat situations. I have to say, I found this to be the most difficult of the three games. When swarms of semi-humanoid necromorphs come screeching after you and surrounding you, it because very difficult to survive. The addition of customized weapons was great, as well as user-made blueprints. The story was well-paced and the layout of the game superb. The amount of content was large, the whole time I felt as though I was accomplishing much. The only gripe I have about this particular Dead Space was the lack of marker induced hallucinations. For me, those were the creepiest parts in the first and second game. Excluding that, remarkably well-done game, delivers well on the hype.…Full Review »

never written a review on here before but as a fan of the series and given some of the issues surrounding this game I thought I would comenever written a review on here before but as a fan of the series and given some of the issues surrounding this game I thought I would come post a review. A lot of criticism has been leveled at EA and Visceral regarding the third entry in this series.The main points are the inclusion of microtransactions, Coop game-play and a perceived shift from horror to action. Now I have been a fan of Dead Space since the launch of the first game back in 2008 and a fan of survival horror since long before that. And like many I have been back to the original two games and played through both over the last couple of weeks. The first Dead Space was for me probably one of, if not the best survival horror game I have ever played. the atmosphere and tension I had not experienced in any game before with Silent Hill 2 possibly being the only game that came close. Dead Space 2 I loved just as much, while the isolation of the first game wasn't as present, I felt the game had a much stronger story and actually upon playing both games through for the first time in nearly two years, actually made me jump more than the original did. Both games sit very high on my all time favorites. Now moving onto DS3.
first off I will talk about some of the negative perceptions and my opinions of them after playing The microtransactions. Now like most people, given the choice I would rather these did not exist at all. My biggest fear for this release was that my progress through the game would be repeatedly hamstrung by my refusal to part with extra money on top of of a full price I have already paid for the game (I'm not opposed to the idea of DLC but I am only ever interested in the ones that give you lots of content, two if the Skyrim expansions being an example) however, I am am happy to say that just because they exist does not mean you have to use them. I didn't, although I did use the scavenger bot in game to find ration seals to purchase items which didn't cost me anything other than time in the game. So while if it was up to me its something I would never have put in from the start, its was not forced upon me and even if I had not used the in game currency I would still have been able to play this game to completion. This for me was going to be my biggest gripe so I was relieved to find it wasn't a barrier to my enjoyment of the game.
Secondly The coop. For me the Resident Evil series has been killed by Coop, although it was the actual coop that bothered me. It was the fact that if I wanted to play solo I would still have this rather clunky companion with terrible AI constantly getting in my way. Thankfully the Coop of DS3 has been done much more effectively. If your playing solo, Carver isn't with you most of the time. he pops up for occasional story moments, and the odd battle but most of the time your back to Isaac on his own. If you are playing Coop Carver is there with you the whole time and there are extra side missions, cut scenes and dialog to represent this, in addition the necromorphs are tougher and more numerous. Now the Coop is great fun and definitely worth playing, however it does diminish the scare factor considerably although there are still a few creepy moments. One nice touch is the individual dementia that each character suffers, one player can be hallucinating and the other player will not see what they are reacting to, its a really interesting idea and to be honest I would like to have seen more done with it as it doesn't really change the game over all, just adds flavor. However it does mean those who choose only to experience the solo campaign will not miss out on a radically different story.
lastly the shift from survival horror to action. while there has been a bit of a shift in this direction, in truth its not nearly as black and white. there are plenty of large action set pieces and these are done really well, and actually better than a lot of action games out there. but there is also plenty of classic dead space moments creeping around pitch black corridors waiting for things to jump out at you (and they probably do more often than in the previous two games) this did give me some of the most heart pounding moments in the series when I found myself surrounded by necromorphs on all sides with very little health to survive on. Its faster pace and intense moments are definitely more closely linked to DS2 the original, but this is not necessarily a bad thing as DS2 was and still is an amazing game. Now a lot of people have complained about the series losing its roots and its not longer a dead space game etc. For me, this absolutely was a Dead Space game. One thing that annoys me more than anything is when developers/bands/ movie studios just remake whatever made them popular, and if I wanted to play for 8 -10 hours of creeping around corridors I already have that game, it's the original dead space, DS3 is a worthy sequel, and while not perfect, I had a blast with it.…Full Review »